After cleaning out my childhood closet, I have all of my surviving comics together in three longboxes, plus a smaller box for the handful of comics I bought in college and adulthood. I don't really want or need them — everything I enjoyed as a kid I've since bought in multiple trade and hardcover collections and/or digital formats, and at this point they're just occupying space and presenting a possible fire hazard.

So I want to get rid of them, and I want some form of remuneration, hopefully, but I'm not really sure if most of them are worth much. I can't say that I had great taste in comics when I was growing up, and I haven't taken the best care of them over the years (though they have spent most of their existence in a dark, dry space). There are a handful of things that I imagine are fairly valuable and in decent condition, like complete runs of Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns, and partial runs of Sandman. The rest, though, is pretty forgettable — Transformers, G.I. Joe, Marvel Two-in-One, etc., and not in necessarily great shape. I had an almost complete run of Uncanny X-Men by Byrne and Austin (including a couple of autographed issues!), but they're in horrible condition from being read over and over again. (We didn't have trade paperbacks in the '80s, kids.)

So what are my options? I have a couple of friends with kids who are 8-9 years old, and I've thought about giving the age-appropriate stuff to them, but I can't imagine most digital age kids would want to read 30-year-old Fantastic Four and New Mutants comics. I've heard that there are also donation services that give comics to hospitals and the military, so I've thought about that as well.

So should I just find a comics shop willing to look at my stuff? Should I buy an Overstreet guide beforehand to appraise my collection? Or should I get an eBay account? Honestly at this point I'd rather just take the fastest, easiest route.